News Article

Accell Group Acquires Raleigh Cycle

Accell Group has reached an agreement on the take-over of Raleigh Cycle Limited. The acquisition of Raleigh adds well-known global brands to the portfolio of Accell Group and further strengthens Accell Group’s position in North America and the United Kingdom. Accell Group values Raleigh at…

HEERENVEEN, the Netherlands – Accell Group has reached an agreement on the take-over of Raleigh Cycle Limited. The acquisition of Raleigh adds well-known global brands to the portfolio of Accell Group and further strengthens Accell Group’s position in North America and the United Kingdom.

Accell Group values Raleigh at a company value, including average debt, of around €76 million. The acquisition price for the Raleigh shares is approximately €60 million. Raleigh’s best known global brands are Raleigh and Diamondback which are complementary to Accell Group’s bicycle brand portfolio.

Raleigh expects to realize annualized revenue of approximately € 200 million and an annualized EBITDA of approximately 4%. Geographically revenues are split between Europe (43%), North America (48%) and the rest of the world (9%). Across the globe, Raleigh sold approximately 850,000 bicycles in 2011. Raleigh employs approximately 430 employees.Strengthen market positions

The acquisition enables Accell Group to further strengthen its market positions in North America and the United Kingdom and in addition its sourcing activities in Asia. The closing of the acquisition is subject to approval of the German competition authorities and is expected to occur at the end of May 2012.

René Takens, Chief Executive Officer of Accell Group: “We are very pleased with the acquisition of Raleigh, another milestone for our company. Acquiring Raleigh adds a strong traditional and global brand with a rich heritage to our brand portfolio and with the Diamondback brand we strengthen our position in the mountain bike and BMX segment.”

“We also strengthen our position in bicycle parts & accessories in North America and the United Kingdom improving Accell Group’s global competitiveness in this field. The acquisition will expand our activities to new geographical markets while benefiting from purchasing advantages through increased economies of scale. We have great confidence in Raleigh’s management team and will fully support future growth of Raleigh within our group”, concludes René Takens.Distribution into over 140 countries

Alan Finden – Crofts, CEO of Raleigh Cycle Limited: “I am delighted with the conclusion of the sale of Raleigh to Accell Group. As talks progressed with the various interested parties earlier this year, Accell Group emerged as the clear preferred buyer for the business, given the highly complementary product range and geographic presence of the two businesses. In Raleigh, Accell Group is acquiring a true global brand with 125 years of heritage and distribution into over 140 countries worldwide and I am entirely confident that Raleigh has found the ideal buyer to support the employees, customers, suppliers and the future growth of the business.”

By acquiring Raleigh, Accell Group expects to realize significant potential synergies in the fields of supply chain, sourcing in Asia, purchasing advantages through economies of scale and intensified distribution of the brands of Accell Group and Raleigh in their respective markets. It will be further investigated where combining Accell Group subsidiaries or activities with Raleigh business units or activities makes sense. Accell Group currently envisages realizing annual synergies of €2–3 million in the course of two years.

Alan Finden – Crofts will stay

Raleigh has a comparable decentralized business model and its operating companies will continue to operate as independent subsidiaries within Accell Group. Raleigh’s management team is expected to stay after the acquisition; CEO Alan Finden – Crofts will stay at least another 6 months.

In conjunction with the acquisition of Raleigh, Accell Group today also announces the launch of an accelerated bookbuild offering of up to 2,000,000 new ordinary shares. The Shares will be offered to institutional and other qualified investors in The Netherlands and certain other jurisdictions through an accelerated bookbuild offering, on a non-pre-emptive basis.